Athlon X4 860K reaches 70 degrees when Idle

[Yaxel Perez]

Hi,
I just built my first computer. Everything is working fine, but it will overheat, freeze, and then reboot. I checked both the BIOS and speedfan, and got 60-70 degrees Celsius when idle. I've reinstalled the heat sink about a dozen times with the same results. I've even tried different methods of applying thermal paste.

I've heard the stock CPU cooler isn't the best, and I'm not using the best thermal paste, but I wouldn't expect such high temperatures when idle.

Here is the part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/notfruit/saved/jynCmG

Is the CPU defective? Should I buy an aftermarket cooler if I'm not planning on overclocking?

 

[jbaker22]

Does the case have good air flow? http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2562403/amd-athlon-860k-overheating.html

 

[getochkn]

I assume the CPU cooler fan spins when it's turned on. Something isn't right with the heatsink installation. Either hte clips aren't tight enough or the retention bracket isn't screwed down tight or something. I highly doubt it's a bad chip. They are like 0.0001% of problems like this. The other 99.999% are installation errors, or possibly the MB, but I'd look to see how tight everything fits.

 

[judd00]

When I built my 860 rig I read that the stock cooler was crap so I bought a Cooler Master Seidon 120v and it idles with a 60 deg. thermal margin now with a 4.2 oc, but you would think that the stock cooler would at least keep it running. I also had to use AMD overdrive to check my temps because of false readings, but if it is getting to 70 in the bios there is something else wrong. Have you cranked up your fan speeds to see if that helps at all?

 

[Yaxel Perez]

I assume the CPU cooler fan spins when it's turned on. Something isn't right with the heatsink installation. Either hte clips aren't tight enough or the retention bracket isn't screwed down tight or something. I highly doubt it's a bad chip. They are like 0.0001% of problems like this. The other 99.999% are installation errors, or possibly the MB, but I'd look to see how tight everything fits.

When I built my 860 rig I read that the stock cooler was crap so I bought a Cooler Master Seidon 120v and it idles with a 60 deg. thermal margin now with a 4.2 oc, but you would think that the stock cooler would at least keep it running. I also had to use AMD overdrive to check my temps because of false readings, but if it is getting to 70 in the bios there is something else wrong. Have you cranked up your fan speeds to see if that helps at all?

Yep, fan speeds are at max in the BIOS, and I added a tiny fan on top of that circled part to see if it would help. Also tried tightening the retention bracket a bit.
Neither of them work and I'm at an uncomfortable 77 degrees C

 

[judd00]

I don't know if it will help at this point but the seidon 120v water cooler is only $50, it looks like you have a lot of warm equipment in a small case on a small mobo. And your case will support a 120mm radiator.

 

[LookItsRain]

I suggest reading this guide:

 

[mlga91]

I suggest reading this guide:

This ^^, also make sure that you've got the latest BIOS on your motherboard to properly support the 860K.

 

[judd00]

I suggest reading this guide:

This is the problem I had, but his is actually freezing and rebooting. Mine gave false readings, but it ran great.

 

[Yaxel Perez]

I went and bought Arctic Silver thermal compound, and still got the same results. I can't even boot without white dots showing on the monitor as it freezes. Should I replace the cooler? I think it might have also gotten scratched a bit because I did something dumb with it.

 

[Seth L]

I went and bought Arctic Silver thermal compound, and still got the same results. I can't even boot without white dots showing on the monitor as it freezes. Should I replace the cooler? I think it might have also gotten scratched a bit because I did something dumb with it.

To put it simply, you should RMA the CPU because something is wrong with it.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I have to apologize for the late response, but I admit, I don't like this answer nor it's selection as the answer. While it MAY be true that there was something "wrong" with the CPU, I would have NEVER assumed that to be the case because as was previously mentioned, it rarely is. In 30 years of working on computers I have yet to find a CPU that was simply "bad", in any case where it had not been subjected to extended periods of overheating or physically damaged (i.e, bent pins, broken substrate, incorrect installation).

If overheating was the cause of it's death, then there was clearly another issue at the root of the problem, because CPUs don't overheat or remain cool on their own. Something else has to be working right or not be functioning correctly in order for either of these things to happen. I would like to have known what the actual problem was here before a solution was selected so that others who come along later can reference the solution for their own ongoing issues. If the OP happens to revisit this thread, please relate to us what the actual problem turned out to be and what you did to resolve it.

Replacing the CPU along with it's cooler may have solved the issue, but I can assure you it's incredibly unlikely to have simply been the CPU itself and nothing else have been the primary contributing factor.